


Slave of the Sun, Bound to the Moon

by Nigg



Series: Magic, Vows and Cursed Things [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Established Keith/Lance (Voltron), Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Magic, Mentions of Consensual Blood Drinking, Multi, Oaths & Vows, Origin of Vampires, Other Supernatural Creatures - Freeform, Prophetic Visions, Supernatural Elements, Vampire Allura (Voltron), Vampire Hunk (Voltron), Vampire Lance (Voltron), Vampire Lotor (Voltron), Vampire Turning, Vampires, Werewolf Keith (Voltron), Werewolves, Witch Coran, Witch Curses, Witch Matt Holt, Witch Pidge | Katie Holt, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 12:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16305434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigg/pseuds/Nigg
Summary: Lance and his siblings, Hunk and Allura, are the first vampires in history and among the most powerful creatures in existence. Two thousand years after the ritual that turned them and made them lose their brother in mysterious circumstances, they are forced to face a new threat looming over them.





	1. King Again

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I've been planning this fic for a while and finally decided to post it. The setting is slightly inspired by the series The Originals so if you know it you may recognize some of the characters. I hope you'll like it! <3

_ In the beginning of time, many of the supernatural creatures you may know of didn’t exist. When I was a child, the word  _ vampire  _ had no meaning. There was no such thing as a cursed, immortal being, doomed to drink the blood of innocents to survive. We, like many others, were just a family. _

_ My three siblings, our mother and father used to live in a small village surrounded by a forest. It was secluded and, thus, safe. We considered ourselves to be simple people, kind. Our father was the leader among those villagers and our mother shared a deep connection with Nature. Today, you might want to call her a  _ witch _ but even that was a word without meaning back then. She was a woman who had ways to ask Nature to bend some of Its laws and, sometimes, her calls were heard. _

_ Everyone looked up to them, not with fear but with respect. We were honored, loved, happy. But we were also curious. Despite our father’s warnings we began to cross the boundaries of the forest. Every day we came home with new stories to tell. The World outside of our little village was vast and diverse, there was so much we didn’t know and couldn’t understand. At night, around the fire, we told everyone about what we found, the new kinds of plants, different animals, a huge expanse of clean water. They asked us questions and we were excited to reply to all of them. With time, though, our naive and unsophisticated responses weren’t enough anymore. They wanted to seek out their own answers and the movements drew the suspicions of the nearest population, the Ulfhedinns.  _

_ We had seen them before, of course, and they us. It was them who created the name  _ Alteans _ since we had never felt the need to define ourselves. Where we had found only awe, the villagers found too many things that they couldn’t control. The first time the Ulfhedinns’ explorers came, they responded by building stronger weapons, locking the doors.  _

_ After that, our peace shattered. The battle began in full with our neighbors and the villagers turned against us, accusing us of putting them in danger for opening the path to the outside. I don’t blame any of them for what happened. It was not their fault, it was ignorance, they were scared. Yet, when they came at our door with torches and pitchforks, I don’t blame our parents for wanting to protect us either. _

_ My mother was strong but she wasn’t powerful enough to hold both the Ulfhedinns and the villagers back. In such a desperate moment, she only thought of our survival and asked Honerva for help, a woman who had the same Gift as my mother but had been researching deeper, darker ways to put it at use. She prepared a ritual to make us stronger and faster, to let us escape. Or so we thought. _

_ Honerva drew a circle on the pavement, using drops of blood from all four of us and she made sparkles of light appear from the cold stone. She chanted, motioning for us to step inside.  _

_ We never knew what happened, then. I can only recall the way Shiro disappeared and how our mother tightened her grip on our father’s arm with a single tear falling down her cheek, both of them looking at us with eyes wary yet hopeful. Then, nothing. _

_ When we came to, the ritual was already over. Allura, Hunk and I stood alone, around us was only destruction. In the ashes, we saw the remains of what had once been our life. The marketplace, the streets, our house. We looked at one another finding the same puzzlement and fear. The silent questions were loud in those lingering glances and, among all others, were the ones that most made themselves heard: how much time had passed and where was the rest of our family? We searched for hours, trying to find some evidence of where they might have gone, not wanting to give up hope that they were still alive, but we found nothing. There was only us and we had nowhere to go.  _

_ That day we shared a promise, the one we still live up to today, that no matter the consequences we would remain together and fight as one to discover the truth about the night of the ritual. _

_ It took us a while to notice the differences in our bodies. When we did, the feeling of invincibility was intoxicating. Our senses were heightened, we could run for miles and miles, feeling every single thing around us despite the speed, the smells, the sounds of the forest, the life in the water.  _

_ At first, it was amazing. Then, the Hunger got the best of us. _

_ I will always remember the first person I killed. It was a boy named Louis. We found a new village, far away from the one that had been our own, in a place where the names  _ Ulfhedinns _ and  _ Alteans _ meant nothing and we were trying to make a new life for ourselves. Since the three of us lived alone, they offered to train us with the blade to help us defend in case of need. One day, as we were practicing together, Louis hurt himself and some of his blood dripped on my shirt, making me completely lose control. My eyes went dry, my head started to spin and the only thing I could focus on was the strong metallic smell. I could feel my face turn, my mouth open against my will as my teeth grew into fangs and sank deep into the boy’s chest. _

_ When Allura found me, hours later, I was still crying. Her voice was hoarse, too, as if she had been screaming and her face was red and twisted in horror. A perfect mirror of my own. She helped me bury Louis’ body, telling me the same thing had happened to her.  We had been turned into monsters. _

_ We left and hid but the  _ need  _ drove our steps wherever we went. Hunk, being the kindest of us, managed to fight it for longer but, eventually, he, too, had to give in. _

_That’s how our journey began, and how the first vampires_ _came into existence._

  
\--   


“Babeeeeeee, this is exhausting! I’m too tired, can we stop?”

Keith sighed. “Lance, come on, you agreed that we would write your story and we’ve barely begun!”

“But that was the important part! You already know the rest is boring until the day I met you!” Lance whined, his arms and legs flailing from where he was collapsed on the couch with his head on Keith’s lap and looking up with pleading eyes at his hopeless boyfriend.

“Fine,” the other relented and let go of his journal to card his fingers through Lance’s hair, instead. “If I hadn’t been there when it happened, I would never believe you are an omni-powerful king.” 

“Because I am not…” Lance had meant for it to sound serious but his voice came out in a purr, his eyes closed in appreciation. Keith couldn’t suppress his smirk.

He leaned in, his breath was warm on Lance’s skin when he said: “You are. We fought and we won, the city is yours now.”

Lance shivered. He opened his eyes with a devilish smile. “Hm… Then, as your king, I command you to kiss me.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Keith chuckled, complying nonetheless. 

As it often happened between them, a kiss was never just one. They became two, then five, then one hand began to roam the other’s body, sneaking its way up and chasing patches of skin under layers of clothes, then another, then someone cleared their throat.

Lance stood abruptly, straightening his clothes and trying to make himself presentable. Noticing it was his brother, he relaxed and the red on his face subdued. “What is it, Hunk?”

Hunk shuffled uneasily on his feet, giving them an awkward smile that made Keith feel sorry for him. They decided to live there all together but even if most of the times they were perfectly comfortable with one another, he couldn’t blame him for being embarrassed when he found them all over each other like that. A circumstance that occurred more often that he would like to admit. 

“I’m sorry,” Hunk said. “Lotor is here and he wants to see you.”

“Ugh,” commented Lance eloquently. He rubbed his temple, Lotor was probably the last person he wanted to see in that moment, a feeling Keith could understand all too well.

“I know, I know,” Hunk conceded. “Could you please  _ try _ and be nice with him? Do it for our sister, at least.”

Keith got up to put a comforting arm around Lance’s waist. They both knew they had no choice, the vampire had promised to aid them in restoring the peace between the three communities coexisting in the city and they needed all the help they could get.

Hunk waved with a sympathetic smile before walking out of the room to let Lotor in.

“Hello Lance,” the vampire greeted. Then, turning to Keith with his usual spiteful tone he added, “werewolf”.

“What do you want, Lotor?” Lance said, reaching protectively for Keith’s hand in front of him.

“It has occurred to me that you are allowing witches and  _ other creatures  _ to participate in our celebrations for Halloween. This is not according to our tradition.”

“Wrong. This is not according to  _ your  _ tradition,” Lance replied, pointing his finger at him and taking a step forward without letting go of Keith’s hand. “As you should recall, Arus is no longer yours so it is only fair that we change them. Besides… It’s not like I can leave my own life mate out of the celebration, right?”

Lotor pursed his lips, glancing at Keith with disgust. “The vampires won’t be happy about this and you know it.”

“This city doesn’t belong to the vampires alone,” Lance said, lowering his voice. His gaze was more sad than angry, making it clear how much seeing those separations was hurting him. “It belongs to the witches and the werewolves as well and you know it. Stop making these differences between us.”

Lotor was unfazed. “You know most of them only respect you because of the gift your family gave them. They don’t like you and they most definitely don’t like your so-called  _ life mate _ ”.

It was enough, Lance was trying to maintain his strong facade but Keith could sense that he was starting to tense. “Lotor, the memory of the battle is still fresh, you won’t convince them to start another war,” he interjected.

“We’ll see about that,” Lotor replied, his eyes locked with Lance’s.

“Just leave us alone, will you,  _ vampire _ ? Or should we have a rematch of your duel with Lance?” Keith retorted, with more bite to his words.

Lotor ignored him completely this time and just said: “This isn’t over, Lance, we will talk again.”

“Sure thing,” Lance replied, growing confident at the other’s retreat. “And my answer will be the same.” 

When he had walked away, Lance rolled his eyes, flopping back on the couch dramatically. “Why did we have to keep him?”

Keith joined him and offered a little smile. “Because if we want to rule peacefully we need the support of the vampire community and he was the fastest way to obtain it,” he explained, like that hadn’t been Lance’s decision in the first place and he hadn’t repeated the same thing to him a million times. He knew Lance needed the reassurance, and was prepared to do anything in his power to give it to him.

“I know…” Lance buried his face in Keith’s chest. “But why did we have to rule the city?”

Keith pulled him up to kiss his ear and whispered: 

“Because he was abusing his power and persecuting all of us he considered  _ unworthy _ .”

“Fine,” Lance huffed to his neck. “I hate him, though. I hate how he talks to you and how he behaves like he is oh so superior to us. He is not. He wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for me and my siblings!”

“I know, love,” Keith said, stroking his back soothingly. “I’m sure he knows as well, but we can do this together, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good,” Keith commented as he stood, scooping Lance up in his arms, making him startle: “What are you doing?”

“Carrying you to our room. We have a  _ conversation  _ to finish, if I remember correctly.”

Lance laughed and asked, teasingly:

“Do we now?”

Instead of replying, Keith bit playfully on Lance’s arm, a low growl on the back of his throat. Lance pushed him to free himself but it was playful, he could see from his grin that he was gradually relaxing. Keith helped him back on his feet and gently caressed his cheek, pressing another kiss to his lips. 

It was the final straw. 

“Okay, okay, we do,” said Lance and a moment later they were securely inside their room, the problems of the city, their precarious political position and Lotor temporarily forgotten between their giggles.

*

Lance traced the bite-mark on Keith’s wrist, his smile pressed against Keith’s bare stomach. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Keith asked sleepily, the loss of blood taking its toll on him.

“For helping me with Lotor and, you know, always being by my side…”

Keith chuckled. “Why are you being so sappy?”

“You are too patient with me, listening to my complaints and my insecurities. Maybe I don’t show you enough how important you are to me.”

“Lance. From this day until the end of time.”

“You are right. I’m an idiot. But still, thank you.”

“Hm.”

“From this day until the end of time,” Lance mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

  
\--   


“Allura, please, you have to do something. He won’t listen to me but he will listen to you. After everything I’ve done, he will bring my city to its fall.”

Allura crossed her arms and faced him with a stern expression. “You won’t use me against my brothers again, Lotor.” The tone left no room for arguments.

“But you were by my side the last time-” 

“Because I trusted you,” she didn’t let him finish. “I thought you loved me, you loved  _ us _ and I made a mistake. A lot of things happened since then.”

Lotor took one step closer but she retreated. “We are not the same as we were, Lotor, you made sure of it. Leave me and my brothers alone.”

“We can be great together, Allura,” he insisted. “You are wasting your time with them, they could never understand the power a pure vampire can achieve like we do. You are right, a lot of things changed but I can see your feelings for me are not among them.”

A wave of doubt flashed in Allura’s gaze and Lotor smiled wickedly. She shook it off. “You know nothing, Lotor. How dare you talk about pure vampires with  _ us _ . You know who we are, no matter what you did with the witches, you have no right. It’s true I’ve loved you for many of my lives but you betrayed me. That changes everything.”

Lotor’s brow furrowed and he shook his head. “I may have betrayed your brothers but you know why we had to do it. I’ve never betrayed you.” 

“You are more delusional than I thought if you really believe that,” Allura replied. She had learned in the worst way how deft Lotor was with playing these tricks, acting miserable and honest to manipulate people at his will. She wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

“But it’s true,” Lotor continued, his tone caressing. “The city was always meant to be ours.”

She clenched her fists, replying: 

“It didn’t seem so.” Her heart ached in treating him like this after everything they had been through together but she knew it was the right thing to do. She just hoped that her feelings weren’t too evident on her face.

“I will prove it to you,” Lotor said. “Things changed for me as well in the past century.”

He sounded so certain, she couldn’t help the flutter in her heart and the softening of her gaze. “I wish I could believe you.”

  
\--   


The sun was rising behind the trees. Only the sound of the wind could be heard from the cabin where one of the few creatures already awake in those early hours sat at the corner of his bed, staring sadly at the small object in his hands.

“36,125,” he muttered, tearing apart the piece of paper on top of it to show the number written on the next.

He sighed. He knew he had promised not to cry but the final days were always the hardest ones. After drinking his black coffee, he went out for his usual patrol of the village. His cabin wasn’t very far from the others, but it was much deeper into the woods, he had made sure of that. The wolves knew him and respected him but, if possible, they preferred to stay at a safe distance and he was okay with that. He loved the solitude, the contemplative quiet.

“Good morning, Adam,” Lance chirped, moving to walk by his side.

Adam shook his head, unable to suppress a laugh at himself. “Hello, Lance, what are you doing here?”

“You know, the usual,” he said, swinging his arms and grinning at him. “Nothing better than a healthy stroll across my domains.”

Adam raised a brow and replied sarcastically:

“Sure…”

“Okay, fine,” he conceded, releasing a breath. “Lotor is being  _ Lotor _ and he continues to bother me about including the other species in the rebuilding of Arus.” He was gesturing with his hands to emphasize his words, each movement exuding his frustration. “He mocks Keith, calls him ‘werewolf’ and looks at him with this superior look that makes me want to grab a stake and stab him through his heart! I need your wisdom.”

“My wisdom?” Adam echoed, amused. “You are more than one thousand years older than me!”

“I knooow,” Lance crossed his arms, taking a moment to compose himself, then his eyes glinted with mischief as he waggled his eyebrows and said:

“But you are the one who taught me that phrase, ‘patience yields focus’, right?” Sounds pretty wise to me.”

Adam bumped his shoulder with his own, glad that the atmosphere was more relaxed. “Maybe so. Where’s your Keith by the way?”

“He,” Lance cleared his throat, a faint blush dusting his cheeks, “needed to rest, I let him sleep.”

Adam sized him up and down and looked away as realization hit. “I don’t want to know.”

“Sorry.”

They continued to walk side by side, surveying the area with practiced motions. It wasn’t the first time Lance joined him in his routine and Adam couldn’t deny that he liked his company. Even if he often was too loud, Lance managed to distract him from his constant musings and, most of all, it was good to be with someone who understood him completely. 

“How are your siblings?” He asked.

Lance played with the hem of his shirt, not meeting his eyes. “They are fine. Hunk is visiting the witches to make sure everything is on the go to be ready for the celebrations… While I’m kind of avoiding Allura?”

“I see.”

They finished the perimeter in silence, only when they were nearing his cabin, Adam broke it again: “Come in, I should still have some of the herbs Matt has given me.”

Lance followed him inside and sat at the small table in the middle of the room as Adam pestled the herbs, inhaling the strong, savory scent that permeated the space. It was as familiar to him as the wood his cabin was built upon for how many times he had used that same mixture in his long centuries of existence. When the infusion was ready, he poured some in a cup and offered it to Lance.

“Here,” he said, joining him. “So tell me, why are you not talking to Allura this time?”

Lance thanked him and looked intensely at the cup in his hands before putting it down. “It’s probably stupid,” he replied. ”Nothing that your magic tea can’t solve,” he winked, leaning over on his elbow to bring his face closer to Adam’s and give him a suggestive smile.

Adam nudged him playfully to push him back on his seat. “Okay then,” he said. They had enough confidence with one another for him to be sure that if Lance wanted to tell him something, he knew he could do it at any time.

“What about you? Are you okay? This is the year, right?” Lance continued, serious.

“Yes, it is,” he sighed. ”Ten days still.”

Lance patted his arm and left his hand there. It was cold, but its weight was soothing. “I admire you, you know? Waiting for him, every time.”

“Thank you. But it’s nothing special, I’m sure you would do the same.”

“Yes, I think I would,” Lance agreed with a soft smile. “Any news about the spell? Or curse or whatever it is?”

“Nothing we didn’t already know, and nothing at all about how to break it. I don’t want to lose hope but…”

“I know,” Lance interrupted. “Will we be able to at least meet him this time?”

Adam froze, pressing his lips into a thin line. He hoped that the shadow passed before Lance could notice it. “I don’t know. I’ll try.”

“Don’t worry, I get it. Either way, tell him that I say hi. I’d better go now, want to be there when the love of my life wakes up,” he gave him a finger-gun and Adam laughed, accompanying him to the door. “Sure. Good luck with the preparations. I’d offer to help but… You know how it is.”

Lance nodded sadly. He squeezed his arm again before moving out of the cabin. “Don’t forget that things are different now. You should give the city another chance, I’m sure they’ll accept you.”

“It’s too soon,” Adam looked at his feet. “We’ll see how it goes, okay? But I appreciate it, Lance.”

“Of course,” the vampire replied before disappearing.  


  
\--   


After more than a century of fear under Lotor’s ruling, it was the first time all the covens were able to gather together. It would have been a magnificent occasion, grand, but also dangerous. Pidge knew it, they had seen visions of many possible outcomes of the night. Of course, none was set into stone, the reality could be different from all of them but it was better to be prepared for the worst. 

“Matt, they are about to arrive, gather the Elders.”

Matt raised his head from the decorations he was painting. “Pidgey, I love you, but I’ve already told you a million times that you need to add context to your sentences. I know that in your head we’ve already had this conversation too many times but we actually didn’t.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” They replied, blinking a couple of times to focus on the present. “I’m just a bit worried about the celebrations and it’s more difficult to control.”

Matt gave them an understanding smile. “It’s okay, don’t worry. So who is arriving?”

“The vampires.”

Registering his panicked expression, they hurried to add: “The good ones, Hunk and Allura.”

Matt and some other witches who had overheard part of the conversation visibly relaxed. He moved closer to them to say in their ear: 

“Be careful when you talk about this.”

Pidge groaned. “I know, I know, I’m sorry. My head hurts so much, Matt, I can’t focus.”

“Don’t worry. Rest, I’ll go tell the others.”

Pidge nodded and sat on the table with their legs crossed, absentmindedly playing with the ribbons in Matt’s decorations. The visions kept flashing one after the other in their head, there was a darkness in all of them, one they couldn’t find a name for, nor a defined shape, but one that exuded pure evilness. They tried to push them away and heard the tail end of Matt’s conversation:

“... And we thought maybe you could help? Maybe you have already encountered something similar before.”

“Are you implying that we are old?” Hunk gasped at the same time as Pidge yelled: “Matt! I told you not to tell anyone!”

Allura took their hands on her own. “I’m glad he did. If you want, I think I can help you. Hunk can supervise on his own here, right?”

“Sure thing, go ahead, Matt and I have everything under control,” her brother replied with a grin.

Pidge knew better than to question them but they also knew they could be trusted and Allura had always been kind to the witches. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

It wasn’t the first time Pidge traveled with one of the vampires but every time it was as weird as the first. Even their visions couldn’t keep up with the speed of the movements, halfway between running, flying and something else. When they stopped, the two of them were in Allura’s room.

“I can’t use magic, as you know, but I do have some artifacts I collected during the centuries that may be helpful.”

“Thank you, princess.”

Allura chuckled fondly at the title. “You can call me Allura, don’t bother with the formalities. Here, try this,” she said as she handed them a small pendant with a green crystal.

“What is it?”

“It’s an Olkari stone, it enhances your connection with Nature. You are having troubles because your power is really strong, maybe channeling other elements could help you increase your control over it.”

Pidge put the pendant around their neck and felt the clouds on their mind dissipate, the calm and fierceness of a growing forest seeping through their veins. “This is amazing,” they said.

Allura gave them a nostalgic look. “I wish I could feel it. The connection with Nature is the thing I miss the most. I remember taking care of the juniberries garden behind our house with my mother when I was a little girl. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, I get it. It’s just… Odd seeing you like this, I guess. I’m used to thinking you and your brothers are unfazed by such worldly things.”

“We are more ‘wordly’ than you imagine, believe me. Now rest, when you will feel better, if you want to talk about this darkness Matt mentioned, you can come to any of us.”

Pidge nodded, feeling the tiredness of days and days without a full night of sleep catching up to them.

  
\--   


“Are you the sun? Because you’re so hot you’re making me  _ burn _ .”

Keith grunted, rolling around on his stomach and hiding his head under the pillow. “Seriously Lance? Jokes about burning in the sun, again? It’s not even true!”

Lance slipped under the blankets to press a small kiss on his shoulder. “It doesn’t burn but it hurts… And it’s true that you are really hot.”

“Will you ever stop with these cheesy lines?”

“Nope. Never. Come on, babe, time to wake up. I’ve prepared a big, slurpy breakfast.”

Keith’s ears twitched with interest. It was less pronounced when he was in his human form but between Lance’s enhanced sight and his deep acquaintance with everything that made Keith, he still noticed it and it made a grin brighten up his face. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked and moved to brush his lips over the faint marks scattered over Keith’s collarbone. 

“Like a vampire drank all of my blood,” the other replied deadpan, turning to give him more room and pushing away the pillow.

“Don’t be mean, it wasn’t all of it, and you were very, very consensual when it happened,” Lance whined. “The bites are already healing. I can give you a sip of my blood if you want to speed up the process.”

Keith blinked to wipe away the sleepiness. “Few words a minute in the morning, Lance, you know it,” he draped his arm around Lance’s frame, kissing the top of his head. “Of course I was, I’m just teasing you.”

“But it’s true, you could drink my blood and you’ll heal in an instant,” Lance said, his voice muffled in Keith’s neck.

“I know but there’s no need to try it, my healing works perfectly fine.”

“I’ll never understand why you are always so defensive when I offer you my blood, it’s not like I want to trick you and turn you into a vampire against your will, you know that, right?.”

Keith didn’t reply so Lance decided not to push it and just sighed contentedly, melting into the embrace. “Love you, wolfie.”

“Love you too, vamp. So… You mentioned a breakfast?”

*

Hunk finished spicing the last of the plates lined up in front of him and brought them all over to the main table, there were eggs, tomatoes, sausages, and no less than three full steaks, Keith’s mouth watered as he took it all in. “Thank you, Hunk!”

“It was no problem, you know I love to cook and you are the only person in this house who can appreciate it so…”

“Hey, hey, I helped too!” Lance complained, popping up from behind Keith’s back to glare at him.

Keith turned his head to the side and smirked at him. “I’m sure you did, love. Did you cut the vegetables?”

“No, I also cooked. Tell him that I helped, Hunk!”

“Would you be more quiet?” Interjected Allura, who had just entered the room, probably having heard the commotion. “Pidge is asleep next door.”

“Sorry,” Keith and Hunk mumbled sheepishly while Lance looked at his feet, but it was apparently too late because Pidge walked in, saying: “It’s fine, don’t worry. I was already awake.”

Hunk clapped his hands enthusiastically. “Great! One more person that can enjoy my amazing breakfast,” he exclaimed.

Pidge smiled and licked their lips. “This looks delicious, I wish Matt was here.”

“You and your family are more than welcome any time you want! We have to prepare this almost every day because  _ someone _ can’t keep their hands and teeth away from  _ someone else _ ,” Hunk teased. He had less than a second to laugh at Lance’s blush before his brother was at his side, trying to hit him. He ducked and tickled him back, causing a yelp from the other. 

Keith smiled fondly at their antics before waving at Pidge. “Good morning. Don’t mind them, they are always like this and they’ll probably continue to pretend to fight for a while. But really, come whenever, they like to cook and since they can’t eat I’m usually forced to have ten breakfasts a day.”

“That sounds great!” They said, then with a mischievous look they asked: “Then, shall we go, my only living companion?”

They offered their hand with a flair and Keith rested his palm on top of theirs to go along with the dramatics. “Why not.”

Allura chuckled, following them to the table and taking one of the blood bags Hunk had put on a bowl beside the real food. “Well, enjoy your meal,” she said.

“No, no, no, no, you won’t start without me!” Lance shouted, freeing himself from Hunk’s grip and jumping on a chair opposite Keith’s.

“And I’m the cook so it’s even more rude, I revoke you the right to eat, only me and my favorite brother Lance can have breakfast.”

“You were beating each other up not two seconds ago,” commented Keith, already halfway through eating a mouthful of scrambled eggs and showing no intention to stop.

Lance poked a straw in one of the blood bags and took a large gulp. “Don’t push your luck getting between two powerful vampires.”

Hunk bumped his fist looking defiantly at the three creatures on the other side of the table.

Keith just raised his brow. “Should I remind you what you said to me just this morning? I’m sure your siblings will love it, what was it? Are you-“

“Stop! No! They don’t need to know. Ok, fine, you can eat.”

“Thank you,” Keith smirked.

From all around the quarter, for the rest of the morning, people heard the laughter and chatting coming from the windows of the palace and couldn’t help but stop and smile in turn, the sound of familiarity and happiness enveloping them.


	2. Magic in my Veins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A witch appears in the woods, looking for Lance.  
> When they bring him home, they learn some truth about their past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read and commented on the first chapter!   
> We are getting a bit more into the plot, so I hope this chapter will answer some of your questions. Let me know what you think, if you want!

It was cold and dark, he had no idea about what day it was or what year. He could never feel the time passing when he was in that state, halfway between death and sleeping, never completely gone but never completely alive either. He didn’t even know if he was breathing or if he was moving at all while he was passed out. Nothing, until the sound of Haggar’s steps and her voice mumbling something unintelligible under her breath brought him back. Her hand hovered over his eyes and they shot open. He coughed and moved to stand but his arms and legs were still tied up. 

“What’s happening? Why didn’t you free me?” He asked.

Haggar’s face was hidden by her purple hood and her tone was void of any emotion: “It’s not the time, I woke you up for a different reason.”

“What?” The man yelled. “What else can you possibly want from me? You already have my eternal life.”

“True. But I have a proposition that I’m sure you will find interesting.”

He didn’t look very convinced even as he motioned for her to continue.

“I offer to release you from my spell, for good, if you’ll do something for me first.”

“What kind of thing?” He said, gritting his teeth. Haggar took one step towards him and he could see the yellow flash of her eyes in the dim light. “During this last century, my beloved Zarkon was killed,” she said. “I need you to take over and complete his work.”

The slight ghost of hope that had appeared in the man’s gaze was drowned first by a wave of fear and then by sadness. “You know that I could never do that.”

“If that’s the case, I am afraid you won’t see another year. I will leave you a couple of hours to think about it. By the next sundown, you’ll give me your final answer,” she snapped her fingers and his restraints disappeared. “Remember, wherever you are, you will be brought back here when the time comes. Make sure to say your goodbyes if you don’t change your mind.”

He nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. “I understand.”

When Haggar disappeared, he let himself take a deep breath and slump back on the flat surface to stretch his limbs. He rubbed his palms on his wrists to help the blood flow normally and he blinked a couple of times to readjust his eyes to the light.

“Quiznak,” he said. A curse in a language the rest of the World had surely forgotten but that, for him, still felt new.

It took him a few minutes to feel like himself again. Only then, the worry flooded his mind and body. ‘A few hours,’ the witch had said. He had to do something quickly. He pondered what his best course of action might be, hoping to obtain answers from her was out of question, he already tried many times to no avail but where could he go? To the pack? To his woods? To his family?

He couldn’t remember when was the last time he had been near his siblings. He knew they were alive for he had heard a lot about them throughout the centuries but time had flown differently for him and he had never reached out to them before. He wasn’t certain they would recognize him.

Slowly, he stood. Every time, his muscles took a bit longer to resume functioning properly. He was aging more slowly than ordinary people maybe, but he was. If his calculations were correct, he should technically be in his forties, but his body hadn’t changed much since the day he had been cursed.

He took some tentative steps keeping a hand on the side of the bed for support. When he felt like he could walk on his own, he moved to change clothes and leave the place. After all, even if it probably wasn’t the most advisable choice, there was only one place where he wanted to be.

  
—

Matt climbed down from the ladder and dusted off his hands. “With that, we should be ready. What do you think, sis?”

Pidge didn’t hear him but, for once, it was because they were humming a song under their breath. He nudged their side with a grin. “Katiepidge?”

“Yes, sorry! What did you say?”

“Do you like the decorations?”

He followed their gaze as they looked at the place. A long table was prepared to one side, with silver tableware dotting a dark orange cloth. The other walls were decorated with flowers and ribbons, drapes in different shades of purple and lights in the shape of candles casting a warm glow all around.

Pidge nodded. “Yes, it’s very nice. Hunk will love it.”

Matt studied their features carefully. “Did you see it? Or…”

“No, I didn’t but I am sure,” they smiled. looking very pleased.

“You didn’t? Wow, that magical pendant must be very powerful,” Matt replied, reaching for the item and studying it. He could feel the magic coming from it but he couldn’t decipher it.

“Yes, it is. It feels so nice to live in the present.”

Matt ruffled their hair affectionately before moving to put away the tools they had used to decorate. When someone knocked at the door, he froze, before remembering what he and Pidge had been talking about and beaming. “This is going to be exciting! I’m not used to surprises!” 

Pidge laughed, shaking their head, as he asked out loud with way more enthusiasm than the circumstances required:

“Who is it?”

“It’s, uh, me? Allura called me? She said you could see the future? My child, I think your magic will need some adjustments!”

Matt opened the door scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. “We are sorry. It’s an honor to have you here, sir, the vampires told us about you.”

“ _ Sir _ was my great-grandfather Hieronymus Wimbelton, I am just like you, young witch,” the wizard replied friendly, “you are a lot taller than I expected.”

He twirled his ginger mustache with his fingers as he hopped inside. Everything about him was loud and extravagant. Matt followed him and noticed the man’s lips open up in a wide grin as soon as he spotted Pidge.

“Oh, it must be you!” He exclaimed. “Hello!”

“Yes, I’m Pidge. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s my pleasure. And what a nice pendant you have there, can I see it?”

Seeing Pidge flinch, Matt hurried to answer in their place: “They are having issues in controlling their magic without it, isn’t there any other way?”

“Sure, sure, it’s not a problem, I was just curious. So, tell me about this darkness you saw, will you?”

Matt held out his hand with a reassuring nod and Pidge gratefully took it before beginning to explain everything they saw.

 

—

When the shadow appeared behind the door, Adam got instantly on his feet. His claws and teeth changed and ready for a fight.

“Stay back! What do you want from me?”

The presence remained still even if it must have heard the threat in his tone. Adam wasn’t a wizard but he wasn’t just a werewolf either. Half-turned as he was, his voice exuded power. Everyone knew that his persuasion skills could rival even Lance’s.

“Adam, please,” an all too familiar voice replied and his heart missed a beat. Why were evil creatures always so cruel? They had to imitate the only voice that could make him weak. He felt his lungs squeeze, his eyes sting. 

“What do you want?” He asked again. So close to the day he had expected for little less than a century, this was too much for him to take.

“Adam, it’s killing me to hear you like this. You have to trust me!” The voice said.

“That’s impossible. I’m counting the days, I’ve been counting the days since the first time I met him. Who are you, why are you doing this to me?”

“I… What can I do to prove you that I’m not an imposter?”

Adam scoffed and pushed the door with both of his hands to prevent the creature from breaking in. “Nothing. There’s nothing you can do because I have done research about his curse for centuries and I know it can’t be broken.” He didn’t know if he was talking to the creature or to himself. “Only the person who created it or someone who shares their blood could, and such a person doesn’t exist because they died two thousand years ago without heirs. So please, just tell me what you want and leave me alone.”

“Adam,” the creature called and it sounded so desperate, so sincere, so  _ him _ , that he couldn’t hold back any longer. 

A sob escaped his lips. “Please, stop.”

It was only then, that it finally left. Just as it had arrived, the creature disappeared.  Adam flopped down on the floor, defeated, drained of all of his energy, the tears running freely now that he didn’t have to stay strong anymore. His hiccups so heavy that his entire body hurt.

Not for the first time, in the many years of his life, a thought wormed its way through his mind, that if he had never met that man, remained a wolf, lived only one meaningful life before dying surrounded by his family, everything would have been incredibly simpler.

 

—

Sometimes, Lance liked to look at Arus from the windows of their house. He still couldn’t believe all those people going about their business down the streets had chosen to entrust their safety into his hands. He was just a boy from a little village near a forest, he was nothing like the King everyone thought he was. He had accepted that title only because they asked him to and he was trying his best to do the right thing and be up to it, prove them that he was worthy. His family had a long history with the witches, but he knew that most of the wolves only trusted him because of Keith.

When they had learned about Zarkon’s death, a coalition of both species had gathered together to call them. The werewolves had been forced to live hidden in the woods for too long and the witches were tired of being used by Lotor at his will. In front of such a historical alliance, Lance and his family could do nothing but agree to their requests.

The battle against Lotor and his vampires had been hard. They were strong and had the environment by their side, but the werewolves didn’t stop in front of anything, especially with the witches casting protection and healing spells to aid hem. In the final moment, Lance faced Lotor alone until the other finally yielded.

Two months had passed since then and the work for the complete recovery of the city was nowhere near finished but they were at peace, free from external threats and, maybe for the first time, they were able to just  _ be _ . After they were turned, they spent centuries on the run, without knowing exactly what they were trying to escape from, or what they were hoping to find. Then, the Hunters arrived and, above them, Zarkon, who had the supernatural ability to find them wherever they went.

The only other place where they had managed to stop for a bit longer had been that same city, more than two hundred years prior. It was in that time that he met Keith and Adam, two people he had never imagined would become so important for him.

The witches had found a source of ancestral magic there and they used it to enhance their powers, enabling them to cast a cloaking spell strong enough to hide them from Zarkon. Unfortunately, the threat never stopped looming over their heads and, eventually, he managed to break the enchantment and find them.

It was that way that Lotor took over. Before then, they thought of him as a friend, for some time they had also thought he would become part of the family, but when the time came, he turned their back on them. He refused to follow them in their escape, claiming it was for the citizens’ safety. With time, they all saw through his lies. He had acted like he was on their side only until it suited him, then he betrayed them.

Now that Zarkon was defeated and Lotor was allegedly back on their side, they had the chance to breathe for real, stop and focus on the simple things the ritual took from them: life, love, happiness.

He closed the window and turned to find his favorite pair of indigo eyes staring at him.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Keith asked, a fond smiling playing on his lips with just the littlest hint of concern behind.

Lance nodded. “Yes, I was just thinking.” He stepped towards him and Keith opened his arms in invitation.

“What about?” The wolf continued with the same hushed voice. There was no need to be louder in the silent room.

Lance set in and covered them both with the blanket, nuzzling his face in Keith’s neck. “You know, just, the meaning of life and… Stuff?”

Keith huffed out a laugh. “Typical.”

“What? It’s not! I just, you know, can’t believe we are… Free.”

“Yes, we are,” Keith said softly.

Lance breathed in deeply, inhaling in his scent. It always had the power to fill his heart with an emotion he had never thought he could experience again in his life, the sense of being at home.

“Would you like to do something tomorrow? Maybe we can go somewhere, explore that waterfall Pidge always talks about,” asked Lance, his fingers playing with Keith’s and his smile so wide it must have hurt.

“I don’t know if I would trust Pidge. What if they want to lure us into a trap? They must have seen something happening to us there.”

Lance chuckled and raised his head to give him a sarcastic look. “Come on, you know they are our friend, they would never do that!”

“The only thing I know is that they can see what will happen to us if we go, so I don’t trust their recommendation,” Keith replied, tightening his grip on Lance’s fingers to stop their fidgeting. His gaze was defiant as he closed the inches separating them to kiss him.

Lance shoved him and rolled on his other side with a pout. “Don’t distract me. I want to go! I’ve never had the chance to do something useless and careless like this before!”

Keith sighed but shifted as well to follow him. He circled his waist with his arms and pressed his head to the back of his neck, saying: “Fine, you win, we’ll go.”

“Thank you, babe.”

He nodded and Lance could feel the movement on his skin. “Now go back to sleep.”

“Aye, captain.” 

*

It was windy the following morning, the perfect amount of clouds covering the sky enough to prevent the sun rays from hitting them too directly. Lance had barely slept, constantly tossing and asking if they could leave every few minutes until Keith had to oblige him. As they exited the house, Lance jumped up and down in excitement despite his warnings that Hunk and Allura were still sound asleep.

They decided to walk there like ordinary humans. No cheating, no vampire-speed, no use of their heightened senses. If they got lost, they would ask for directions or look for a map. “It won’t be an adventure, otherwise,” Lance had insisted and Keith was weak. He couldn’t help it, seeing him like this was everything he had ever asked. During their almost two hundred years of relationship, he had caught glimpses of Lance’s playful and upbeat personality, but there were demons hidden in his gaze that made every one of those moments too fleeting. He held his hand and let Lance’s disjointed chattering flow through his entire body, calming his nerves. By the time they were in sight of the woods, he was completely relaxed. It was difficult not to give in to temptation and smell his surroundings, or pick up his ears to appreciate the sounds of the nature calling to him but the will to give Lance his perfect day was stronger than anything else.

“I’m sure we have already been here, Lance, are you sure you know where you are going?” Keith asked, noticing the same marks on what was probably the same tree they had already passed three times.

“Hmm… Maybe?” Lance said.

“What do you mean, maybe?” He replied. They stopped in the middle of the clearing. The smell of the trees and the flowers growing at their base was strong even without the use of their powers and it was definitely familiar, meaning they had, indeed, already been there.

“I know we are close.” Lance’s eyes were focused and his mouth pressed tight in concentration. “Maybe if I used the tiniest bit of my hearing I could hear the waterfall?” He mumbled.

“No, you won’t! Adventure, remember?” Keith replied, barely suppressing a smirk.

“But we are almost there!” Lance continued, his tone getting dangerously close to a whine.

“All the more reason we shouldn’t give up now!”

If the circumstances had been different, the sudden rustle coming from the bush behind them wouldn’t have caught them off guard. As it was, when the figure suddenly appeared behind them, they both jumped. Lance bared his fangs and Keith readied his claws for battle as he yelled: “Stay back. Who are you?”

The creature was entirely dressed in black, its face almost completely concealed by dark long bangs.

“Please, I mean no harm, I’m just lost, like you,” it said.

Keith wasn’t sure if they could trust it, so he stepped in front of Lance without a second thought even if he could feel the other’s disappointment. They had a deal and he, as a wolf, was bound to keep it, there was nothing Lance could say.

“I am not lying, I’m a man, I couldn’t fight you two if I wanted to,” he said, holding his hands in front of him in surrender.

Only then, Keith relaxed, he could feel the honesty in the way the man’s heart was beating. “What are you doing here, then? This place is sacred, don’t you know it?” He asked.

“I didn’t. I don’t know where I am, I am sorry.”

Lance put his palm over Keith’s back and he realized he was still on edge, on the verge of turning. He stepped aside and Lance smiled at him reassuringly before approaching the stranger. “Tell us what happened, will you? If you approached us alone, even knowing what we are, you must be really desperate. Even if you are not just a man, are you?” Lance raised his eyebrows at him and the man nodded. “You are right, I am a witch. But I wouldn’t be nearly as powerful as you two on my own.”

Again, they could sense that he was telling the truth.

“Where are you headed?” Lance asked.

“To Arus, I’ve been told to look for a vampire called Lance, he should be in charge there,” he replied.

Both Lance and Keith gaped and the first grinned. “Really? You are looking for Lance? What a coincidence!” He exclaimed, excitedly. He looked at Keith like he had won the lottery but Keith wasn’t convinced. He studied the man, using his nose and hearing to search for any threat in him but he found none. 

“Who told you to look for Lance?” He asked, eyes narrowed.

“I… Don’t know,” the man replied, looking like he was surprised by his own lack of answers.

“Well, you just found him,” announced Lance, ignoring them both. “Come with us, we are going to help you.”

Keith stiffened but Lance had never been able to turn his back to someone in need. Reluctantly, he followed them as they returned to the city.

 

\--

Other than having to find a vampire named Lance, the only thing the man remembered was that he was called Kuro. He settled in the Palace, using one of the spare rooms they were keeping and Pidge and Matt came almost every day to try out new charms to make him recover his memories. Hunk couldn’t be happier about having four living beings constantly in his house - sometimes even five when Coran joined them. If Lance had accepted to help the city to unite vampires, werewolves and witches, he did it to protect the humans. He had always loved to take care of others and, after he was turned, that emotion was amplified. That was the reason why, while Lance and Allura busied themselves with politics, he preferred to spend his days in the kitchen, cooking or studying new herbs and mixtures he could use to prepare medicines. Caring for others was more than a hobby, it was his anchor for when the hunger for blood threatened to get the best of him. Every one of them had one: for Lance, who had always valued family above everything else, it was bringing and keeping people together; for Allura, it was researching mystical relics and amulets that made her feel in touch with magic, to preserve the memory of their mother.

He was currently helping Matt with one of his preparings when Lotor barged in unannounced.

“Where is he?” He yelled.

Hunk sighed and he heard Matt chuckle beside him. “Hello to you, Lotor! How are things going?”

“I am not here to exchange pleasantries. I’ve been told that you are housing a runaway man without knowing where he comes from or how powerful he is. What if it’s a trap?”

Hunk noticed that behind him were his most trusted vampires, Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid. People used to call them his Circle because of the cursive L tattooed on their forearms. They were very different from one another both in appearance and abilities, but they shared Lotor’s bloodline and were loyal to him above everything else. Hunk approached them slowly, his arms open in a friendly gesture, hoping to calm them. “Look, Keith and Lance found him, lost and scared, we are just trying to figure out who he is. There are always witches with him and I presume you didn’t forget that in this house live three original vampires? There are few things that can really be a threat to us.”

“Except from the Hunters, of course,” Zethrid said, always the most direct of them.

“The Hunter’s curse has been defeated when we killed Zarkon,” Hunk replied, unbothered by her gruff tone. He noticed the pointed looks they were sharing but he ignored them, he wanted to avoid fighting with them at any cost. 

Lotor motioned for them to stay back and took another step forward. “Can we see him?”

“Of course, just, please let’s all be friendly? No threatening, no accusing him of being a Hunter or similar?”

Lotor nodded and Hunk lead the way to the living room, the vampires and Matt trailing behind him.

“Oh, hello Lotor! What brings you to our humble home?” Asked Lance upon seeing them enter. He was leaning casually on the side of the couch with his arms crossed, watching intensely as Pidge muttered spell after spell.

Lotor didn’t reply, his gaze fixed on the man laying there, so Hunk explained that he had come to see the creature for himself, the implied ‘because he didn’t trust us’ evident even in his silence.

“Sure, go ahead, as long as you don’t threaten him, or something!” Lance said, and Hunk chuckled: “Yes, that’s what I said.” He and Lance exchanged a brief smile but they returned their attention to Lotor immediately.

“Who is he, Lance?” Kuro asked, glancing between the two of them. “Why does he look familiar?”

Pidge was the first to snap: “What do you mean familiar? Do you know him?”

“I think so,” then to Lotor he asked: “Do you know me?”

Lotor paled and, instead of replying, he yelled: “I told you we couldn’t trust him!”

“Why?” Lance perked up, hopeful. “Do you? Maybe you can help him! Have you seen him before?”

“Of course I don’t!”

In a flash of color, Ezor disappeared and reappeared directly in front of Kuro, her nose inches from his own. After studying his features, she smirked. “He is kind of cute, I think he would remember him.” 

Acxa and Zethrid were on her in an instant, whispering a reproach in her ears as they brought her away. Kuro blushed, unsure about what to do. “I’m sorry, maybe it was just someone who looks similar?” He offered.

Lotor was moving frantically, looking clearly uncomfortable. It was so out of character for him, usually perfectly composed, that it made them suspicious.

“What are you not telling us?” Hunk asked.

“Nothing, there’s nothing I’m not telling you.”

Lance turned to stick an accusing finger to his cheek. “Look, gorgeous, spill it. I’ve known you for centuries and I’ve never seen you this distressed.”

“He is right, Lotor, you are acting weird, what’s happening?” Asked Acxa with concern.

“I…” Lotor looked around, searching for something, or someone, then he gave in. Hunk wasn’t sure if his decision had been determined by something he found or something he didn’t. “Fine. When Zarkon found you here in Arus“ - Lance’s eyes widened, all of them held their breath - “he didn’t manage to break the spell. It was us. Me and Allura called him.”

“What?” Lance and Hunk yelled in unison but Lotor continued:

“It doesn’t matter now, what it matters is that when we met Zarkon, that man was there, too, with a witch.” He was pointing at Kuro. A billion different emotions fought for dominance in Hunk’s mind, he was sure there must have been a reason for them to act like they did but it was still hard to accept. Suddenly, he felt grateful that Keith wasn’t there, he would have surely done something irresponsible. Lotor was right, if what he was saying was true, they didn’t have time to think about that right now.

“Lotor, tell us everything, please,” he said.

Lance was red in the face, he looked like he was about to explode and gaped at Hunk in disbelief. “Are you seriously willing to talk to him after what he told us?”

“If Kuro has something to do with the Hunters, memory or not, he could be dangerous for him to be here. We need to know.”

“I… can’t do this right now, I’m sorry. I’ll go find Keith and Allura.” He added the second name almost in a whimper. Knowing that she had been involved must have broken his heart. He nodded and Lance disappeared. Lotor sat down on the couch, bringing his hands to the side of his head. “Look, I know what you are thinking, but we betrayed you for a right cause. There were extremists among the witches, they knew you had already turned me, as well as other humans, but soon after you settled here, you did the same to Adam and he was more powerful than any vampire who ever existed. They got scared. They gathered followers, saying that the witches couldn’t stand and watch as you used dark magic in their territory. Some of those who refused were close to me and Allura because we practiced alchemy together, so they told me. You know how important that faint link with magic is for her, we couldn’t fight the witches or they would have taken it away and she would have fallen apart. I didn’t know what to do. I thought that if you ran away, they would leave you alone.”

Hunk took a deep breath. “And instead of, you know, telling us ‘hey, some of the witches are plotting against you, you’d better leave’? You decided to call the only creature capable of killing us? What if he succeeded? Wouldn’t that have been worse than breaking our relation with the witches?”

“Do you really think that you and Lance would have listened?” Lotor shouted. “He was in full honeymoon with his werewolf at the time and you were so excited to finally have a house in a fixed place. It was the only option to keep you safe.”

“To keep us safe…” Hunk muttered, he still had trouble in believing what he was hearing. “Lotor, he could have killed us!”

“The plan we created for your escape was perfect. There was no way it could have failed.”

Matt and Pidge, as well as Lotor’s vampires were silently watching the exchange as Hunk paced back and forth. The conversation revolved around events set in a time when neither of them had been alive.

Suddenly, Hunk stopped, a realization hitting him. “If what you say is true, then why did you abandon Allura, why didn’t you ran with us?”

He bit his lip, a wave of something that looked like regret crossing his gaze. “When I was alive, I wanted to be like you, unreachable, powerful, immortal.” He looked away. “After I was turned, it became unbearable. I was a vampire, yes, but I wasn’t like you. You could still use your powers on me, you were stronger. I was just… A half-breed. I threw myself in alchemy, searching for ways to be  _ more _ . Just before you left, we made a discovery. We found a way to channel the Source but we needed to be here to finish the experiment. I told myself that I would find you after, but I never did.”

Hunk gave him a severe look and replied: “When we found you, you were blinded by your power, commanding everyone, treating the vampires like superior beings.”

“Perhaps I was,” Lotor mumbled in defeat.

 

—

After a long walk to clear his head, Lance spotted Keith sitting on a roof, his gaze lost in the distance. He jumped up and collapsed next to him, bumping his shoulder slightly with his own. “Hey, man.”

“Hi, love. Sorry for disappearing before… I was feeling a bit restless.”

“I figured.” Lance smiled, Keith had never liked being in a closed space with many people for too long, especially if he thought there was nothing useful for him to do, and they had been talking endlessly about magic for days.

“How did it go?” Keith asked.

Lance exhaled without meeting his eyes. “I don’t even know where to start.” He couldn’t keep it a secret from him, Keith would be able to tell something was wrong and, most of all, Lance needed him by his side. Keith leaned his head on his shoulder, saying: “Usually, it’s a good idea to start from the beginning.”

“Promise me you won’t get mad” He offered with a tentative grin.

Keith chuckled. “I couldn’t possibly get mad at you.”

“Not at me, you have to promise you won’t get mad at all.”

He looked at him, worry colored his features as he said: “Tell me, Lance.”

Lance propped himself back, supporting his weight with his hands and crossed his legs, eyes trained on the dark sky above them.

 

_ When he first met Keith, it was like the colors of the Universe began to shine more brightly. He remembered distantly hearing Adam talk and realizing in the back of his mind that he was probably saying something important but not being able to focus. What Adam was asking him was dangerous and scary. He really wanted to help but he wasn’t sure he would be able to do it. Then, Keith smiled at him, sure, hopeful, and Lance knew he would have done anything to be worthy of that smile. Keith was young, not even a century old, and Adam was everything he had. That same day, when they finished making the arrangements, Lance asked him out. He would always remember his answer ‘I’d prefer not to.’ _

_ “What does it mean?” Lance asked but Keith didn’t reply. They continued to see each other, Keith wanting to be involved in every step of Adam’s transition and, gradually, the initial fascination shifted to something more real. When he couldn’t bear it any longer, Lance asked again, and again, and again, and every time Keith rejected him, it hurt more. _

_ “Why won’t you even give me a chance?” He asked one day, noticing the longing looks Keith cast in his direction. _

_ The wolf shook his head. “What would it matter? Even if I agreed and it worked, I’d be only a small crumb in your eternal life. What are one or two centuries for you? You’d blink and I’d be gone, you wouldn’t even remember me.” _

_ Lance was taken aback but one thing he understood from the choice of words: “So you do like me.” _

_ “I could, Lance. I could very much like you. But I won’t.” _

_ “No, Keith, stop,” he desperately needed him to, at least, understand. “You have to listen to me.” _

_ Keith did, he turned, the fire in his gaze rivaled the might of a raging storm. Lance swallowed the lump in his throat and said:  _

_ “I don’t care. I have lived a thousand lives and none of those has ever been mine. I’ve survived, learned to control the worst parts of being a vampire, tried to do something good. All I ask is to live one single life for myself. I will be with you for as long as you’ll want me and then just silently stay by your side and live on with the memories of the happiness we shared to keep me going.” _

_ Keith had been so focused on trying not to cry, he didn’t notice the vampire slowly approaching him. Lance took his hand and pressed his lips to his palm, whispering. “I only ask for a possibility.” _

_ Keith nodded, his entire body shaking, but his tone was unwavering as he said: _

_ “Only if you promise me a thing.” _

_ And of course Lance accepted, how could he know. His knees gave in and he fell into Keith’s awaiting arms.  _

_ They didn’t kiss that day, too overwhelmed by the emotions to think about such a thing, but they mutually agreed not to tell the others, embarrassed to admit that they simply had forgotten. They just stayed there, crying on each other’s shoulders, feeling at the same time the weight of the moment and the lightness in their hearts and minds, the freedom that only a new beginning can give. _

_ They took their time to formulate the deal. It was meant to be a form of shelter, a guarantee, a way to be able to enjoy every moment they had together without worries. At the same time, it couldn’t be too binding because werewolves are forced by their nature to be loyal. When they were ready, since the word  _ life _ had different meanings for the two of them, they sealed it with another form, that they echoed like it was a vow: “Until the end of time.” _

 

“I know you have to protect me,” Lance started, careful, “and that I agreed I would let you do it. But we are talking about my siblings.”

“Lance,” Keith repeated. Firm, non-negotiable.

“Lotor said Kuro might be connected to the Hunters…” He said in a breath, then bit the inside of his cheek.

“And?” Keith prompted, clearly getting impatient.

“He and Allura saw him with Zarkon and a witch, just before we had to escape Arus the first time.”

He could see Keith counting to ten in his mind before replying, his face unreadable: “Okay.”

“Okay?” Lance flailed his arms as he yelled: “What do you mean, okay??”

It was then that he realized he had already seen that expression on Keith’s face, back when they were fighting against Lotor. He was strategizing. 

“How… What... “ He tried to form a coherent sentence without much success. He was sure Keith would have run to kill Lotor without asking questions first. “I can’t believe my own boyfriend, the most impulsive person in existence, is being wiser and more logical than me. Can you stop it and go punch Lotor, please?”

Keith’s lips tugged upward at Lance’s antics. “Oh, don’t worry, I will punch Lotor, and Allura, plenty when this is over. But now we have to focus on Kuro. You said Allura and Lotor saw him together, right?”

Lance nodded, not sure where he was going with this. “Hmm, yes, why are you asking?”

“Then, how come Allura didn’t say anything when we first brought him home?”


	3. Make this House Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tale of battles and promises, families and long lost loves.  
> And they lived happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I wrote a little prequel to this story, about Keith and Lance's first meeting and Adam's transition... It's on my Tumblr but maybe I'll edit it and post it in here as well. I also have another couple of fics I'm planning for this au, so I created a series, if you are interested in continuing to read it! I hope you'll like the ending of this little story :)

Many things in life can bring a family together or tear it apart. In their two thousand years of existence, Allura and her brothers had seen plenty of both. For every success they had celebrated together, there had been a misunderstanding; for every time they had supported one another, there had been a fight; for every accomplishment, an heartbreak. They went through it all together. The ritual that turned them into vampires had taken away everything from them but each other, and the mission they shared to find out what happened that night was a tie, thicker than blood, that bound them.

Allura had always been the closest to their mother. When they were humans, she had hoped to follow in her footsteps and learn the secrets of her powers but, the moment they turned, Nature stopped answering to them. As painful as it was, for a long time she accepted magic would be forever unattainable for her. Then, she met Lotor. He lived in a city called Oriande where people practiced alchemy. With him, she discovered that myths and sacred objects from many civilizations were actually crystallized forms of the same magic. They used to spend months following one trail after the other, leading to a relic or to an ancient book, talking to shamans or other kinds of sorcerers. It was that way that they first got in contact with the Wimbelton family. It was also that way that they first fell in love. 

When Lotor asked to be turned into a vampire so he could remain with her, they agreed without thinking much about it. They weren’t sure what the exact procedure was because every other time they had done it before, it had been by accident, but they were more reckless at the time. If it happened later, things would have been very different.

With Allura and her siblings always on the run, they never had the chance to build something stable, but no matter how far they went, they always found their way back to the other. With the pretext of another lead, another clue or something they had yet to discover. 

They were the firsts to hear the news about the source of ancestral magic in Arus. She remembered how happy they had been, not only because it opened incredible possibilities for alchemy but because it gave them hope to finally be together. 

For a while, they did. She couldn’t bring herself to regret helping Adam because she had seen how desperate he was but, after that, nothing had ever been the same. The more witches opposed them, the more Lotor grew paranoid and distanced himself from everyone, claiming that only the vampires had the right to decide on the future of the city. They planned her brothers’ escape together and agreed she would return in secret to stay with him. When she did, though, she could only watch as he drowned in his own ambitions. Perhaps, she could have acted differently, stop him before things got completely out of hand, but she didn’t want her brothers to know about her involvement in Zarkon’s arrival, fearing their reaction. 

Now, over a century later, she would find out. She returned to the house just in time to realize what Lotor must have been talking about and she had half a mind to ran away but she couldn’t avoid her family forever. “Hunk,” she called. “I’m sorry, I should have told you before. I know it was a mistake.”

The look Hunk gave her was severe but the edges of his smile were soft. “We will talk about it, Allura, but not now.”

She nodded and her eyes met Lotor’s for a moment. Neither of them knew what to feel or what to say so they just looked away.

The silence in the room was awkward, the absence of Lance’s nonchalant demeanor like a wall between them. Then, there was a loud scream and purple smoke appeared around Kuro. It took them all too much time to realize that the person screaming was Pidge. When they did, Kuro’s dark eyes had turned a bright yellow and he was holding a metallic arm to their throat.

“Pidge!” They shouted, not daring to move. The little witch was pale, their body trembling but they managed to whisper: “Necklace!” It was so feeble, only a vampire could have heard it. Allura turned to Matt, using her power of persuasion to make him cast a spell and tear the pendant away from Pidge. Their gaze lost focus as the visions returned at once, then Kuro shoved them against Hunk and everything stopped.

\--

  
Keith’s words echoed in Lance’s mind: “How come Allura didn’t say anything when we first brought him home?” He gaped, both he and Hunk had been too shocked to notice but Keith was right.

“We should go back,” he said, hopping on his feet and holding out his hand to help him do the same.

When they arrived at the palace, what they found was not at all what they were expecting. 

“Hunk! Oh no, Hunk! Allura!!” Lance screamed, running from one of his unconscious siblings to the other, terror clouding his mind.

“Lance, stop. Look.” Keith said and pointed to a small black orb floating in the middle of the room.

“We have to find a witch!” He said. Pidge and Matt were there too, along with Lotor and his vampires. They all looked like they were frozen, suspended in time. While he was thinking about what the fastest way to call Coran or one of the others from the coven might be, Keith took one of the kitchen knives and with a swift motion cut the orb in two. 

“What the Hell are you doing?” Lance yelped.

Coughing, the different creatures around them, resumed to move. They blinked, surveying the room and their bodies with various degrees of confusion. Keith shrugged, looking way too smug and Lance glared. “That could have been dangerous, Keith!”

“What happened?” Asked Hunk, the first to recover. “Where’s Kuro?”

Everyone’s attention was on him in an instant. “He must have escaped,” replied Lotor.

Except from the destroyed orb, there was nothing out of place in the house.

“Why there’s a cut on my arm?” Allura said. “Hunk, look, you have one too!”

True to her words, there were two identical cuts running vertically on their forearms. Lance looked down at his arm, almost expecting to find the same there but his skin was immaculate.

Pidge cleared their throat to catch their attention: “It has something to do with him. The darkness. I managed to touch him when Allura broke my necklace and I saw it more clearly. We need to talk to Coran. I heard a name… Haggar, does it mean something to you?”

“Haggar? She is… The witch who created the Hunter’s curse. She should have died a thousand years ago,” Lance replied, glancing at his siblings and Keith for reassurance. “Unless we are talking about a different Haggar?”

“She has long, white hair, yellow eyes, similar to Kuro’s when he shifted… In the vision I had, she was wearing a purple vest with a hood covering most of her face and I… I think she was the one blocking my mind before.”

Lotor looked at Allura and she nodded. He gave her a little apologetic smile. “She sounds like the witch I was talking about, the one I saw with Kuro and Zarkon.”

“Wait, so you are saying that was Haggar? How can she be alive? Is she a vampire?” Asked Lance. He started to pace the room in big strides. “And why weren’t you worried when we brought Kuro here, Allura? It can’t be just because you didn’t want to admit the  _ betrayal  _ thing.” He waved his hand as if to dismiss the thought but he didn’t miss the way Allura flinched at the mention.

“I…” she started, baffled. “I don’t remember Kuro being there.”

“How can you not remember him?” Continued Lance.

“I don’t know., but I swear, it’s true.”

She looked sincerely sorry and Lance didn’t have the heart to press further. His attention shifted to Pidge, who was twirling uneasily the hem of their shirt between their fingers.

“I saw another thing,” they said, their caramel eyes fixed on Keith. “Adam was talking to him.”

“Adam? Is he in danger?” Keith was on his toes, a breath away from going there and fight them all.

“No, they seemed… Friendly. I think Adam might be on his side.”

Lance interjected: “That’s not possible, Pidge. Adam would never do something against us.”

Their discomfort was visibly increasing, so Matt put his hands on both of their shoulders, asking: “Are you sure about that, Pidgey?”

“I couldn’t hear anything clearly but… Yes, I’m sure.”

Lance felt like the ground was shaking beneath his feet. First Lotor, then Allura, now Adam. Everyone was leaving him, all his efforts to keep the family together through the centuries had been useless. He didn’t realize how much his head was spinning until he felt a hand caressing his hair and a warm, soothing voice brought him back to the present. “...baby, breathe, calm down,” Keith was saying. “We’ll figure it out, okay?” 

“Yes, okay,” he replied, hoping to sound surer than he felt. Then, looking at the others, he asked: 

“What are we going to do?”

“I’d say you and Keith go talk to Adam,” said Hunk. “We’ll go back to the witches and see if we can locate Kuro or interpret the visions better.” He hesitated for a moment, before adding: “Lotor, can we trust you to protect the citizens if anything happens?”

“Of course, I will do my best. Acxa, let’s go.”

Allura looked between the three of them, seeming conflicted.

“You’d better remain with Hunk, Allura, maybe the witches will be able to tell how that cut appeared,” Lance said softly. He was grateful that Hunk took charge because he wasn’t in any condition to make decisions at the moment but, regardless of where they may be standing, assure of his siblings’ safety was his top priority.

He met both Hunk and Allura’s eyes and smiled. “Be careful.”

They reciprocated the wish to him and he entwined his fingers with Keith’s in a silent request. Hunk was right, if someone had to face Adam, it was better if it was them.

*

They found him in the corner of his living room, hunched in on himself on the floor with his knees bent against his chest. Lance visibly forgot the reason why they were there and ran to his side. “What happened?”

“He didn’t come. Today was the day and… He didn’t come.”

Lance took his hand and whispered soothingly in his ear. Keith maintained his position next to the open door, calling his name in a reproachful tone.

“How can you be so cruel! Don’t you see him?” Lance retorted. On any other day, Keith would have loved his empathy and compassion, but there was no way he could indulge them when Lance’s life was in danger. 

“Adam,” he called. “Tell us what you know about a witch called Kuro.” 

Adam looked up, his eyes so wide and panicked, Keith felt a twist in his gut but his stern expression didn’t falter: “I’m sorry about what happened but I need you to answer honestly.”

“I have never heard of that name,” Adam replied.

Keith wished he could feel his heartbeat to understand if he was telling the truth. He wanted so badly to believe him, to think that Pidge had made a mistake, but their visions were never wrong.

“Adam,” Lance said, “we just want to understand, talk to us, please. Then, we’ll do our best to help you.”

Before they could react, a blue light flashed in the room and the form of a portal opened, showing Kuro himself on the other side. Adam’s eyes locked with his yellow ones and Keith stared intensely at them both but neither of them showed any sign of recognition. 

Kuro didn’t say a word. He made a beeline for Lance and, grabbed his arm, he turned his hand into a blade to cut a red line that mirrored the one they had seen in Hunk and Allura’s bodies. Keith realized he was yelling but his body felt like it was in slow motion. Only when Kuro retreated, he managed to move normally. The wizard had already disappeared back behind the dark light but the portal was still open. He looked questioningly at Adam and Lance, noticing the first had thrown a medallion against it. “How long will it hold?” He asked.

Adam studied the light and shook his head: “Not long.”

“Ok,” said Keith. “I’m going in.”

Lance perked up, looking like a lost puppy. “What? We don’t even know where that thing will take you! You can’t go like this! We should talk to the others first, plan our actions.”

Keith walked backward to get closer to the portal as he explained: “It may be too late then. We don’t know if a locator spell would work to find him, or Haggar, but if you and Adam are there, it will surely work on me and maybe I can slow them down until you arrive. He took your blood, who knows what they are planning to do with it!”

“Then I’ll come with you,” Lance whispered.

“You can’t, it’s too dangerous,” said Keith with a sad, lopsided smile. “And you promised, remember? When the time would come, you would let me go.” He paused, swallowing hard to find the courage to speak the following words: “You promised to continue to live even without me.”

Lance’s breath hitched and his sob tore Keith’s heart apart.

"Not like this,” the vampire murmured. “I can’t keep my promise if you leave me like this.”

Keith’s hands were shaking but he continued to stare into those ocean eyes that meant more than the universe to him, following the drops unceasingly escaping from them. “How then? When? Do you really think it’d make any difference?”

Lance ran to meet him and buried his head in Keith’s chest repeating “No, no, I can’t, please.”

“Lance,” he sighed, stroking the hair at his nape.

“We still have time! We can have another century together, maybe more.”

Keith frowned and tried to free himself from Lance’s grasp. “Maybe. But this moment will still come, Lance. No matter for how long we avoid it, it will be the same. You have to let me go. Or maybe I’ll come back and you will have worried for nothing.”

The moment Lance stepped back, Keith felt in his bones what he was about to ask. He froze, giving a warning look that made Lance bite his lips with more force that he had probably meant to. 

“No, no, Keith, I didn’t say it, I didn’t,” he begged but it was too late. The thought had been so intense that the power of persuasion would have worked if Keith hadn’t been training to counter it for all his life. He took the final step across the portal and looked at Adam in a silent goodbye that held all the gratitude for the many years the man had spent taking care of him. Adam nodded his understanding, bringing back the medallion. Even as the light faded, Keith could hear Lance calling him, screaming and crying for him to stop, come back, he didn’t mean it. But Keith couldn’t. Lance had broken their promise. He understood and forgave him instantly, but he couldn’t go back on his words, even if he wanted to. It was over.

\--

  
The Holt house, momentarily turned into the coven’s quarter, was buzzing. Witches moved frantically around the different rooms, some still trying to pretend like it was the festive gathering they had anticipated, others muttering spells of different kinds to protect the place and their families or to help find out the exact entity of the danger looming over them. Coran and Matt had been trying to help Pidge, letting them channel their energies, but the vision didn’t change, there was the hooded figure, someone yelling the name ‘Haggar’ and Kuro talking with Adam. They slumped their head over the table, groaning. “I feel so useless. If only I could touch him again, I know I could see more.”

Matt patted their back. ”You are doing your best, sis, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“He is right, young witch,” confirmed Coran, smiling at them. “The potion to break the spell on Allura must be ready soon, maybe then she will be able to help us.”

The mentioned vampire shifted uncomfortably on her seat. “How did they even manage to cast it on us? Twist our memories like this? Shouldn’t we be more powerful than that?”

“I’m not sure,” Matt said, “they must have some object with a strong connection to you.”

Allura was fidgeting, playing with locks of her white curls, her eyes moving back and forth between the three witches.

“Adam is at the door, we should let him in, he is kind of a mess,” snapped Pidge, interrupting the spell.

Matt chuckled. “Aaand we are back to normal.” He nudged their side before moving to do as they said.

When Adam finished explaining what happened, Hunk’s worried frown turned into determination. He announced he would go find Lance but Pidge stopped him, saying: “Don’t worry, he is on his way here.” 

Their head was hurting again, badly. They rubbed their forehead, trying to focus, and an idea struck them. “Adam, could I… Touch you? I can better direct my visions if I’m in contact with the person I’m trying to see.”

“Sure, if it can help, I’ll do anything,” the man replied, offering his arm without a second thought. 

At first, it was the same as usual, Adam talking with Kuro, being too close and too passionate for it to be an argument between strangers, then, the image flickered. “There’s something interfering with my magic, I think it’s Haggar again. Coran, give some of that potion to Adam, as well.”

“Coming right away!”

\--

  
When Lance arrived home alone, it was almost dawn. He wandered for the corridors, feeling like his mind was detached from his body and couldn’t make it function. It took him a while to notice that someone was calling his name and he replied without looking in the direction of the voice. He didn’t care who the person might be. “Yes?”

“Lance, what happened?” They asked. 

“He left.” He said, distantly wondering why he was telling the truth. “He left and he will probably die and I won’t be able to be by his side-” His sentence was interrupted by another sob. He had lost count of all the tears he shed since he left Adam’s cabin.

"Keith?” The person asked and Lance wanted to punch them. Of course he was talking about Keith? Who else it might have been?

“Sorry, I… Didn’t think you would talk to me like this.”

Lance blinked, he must have said it out loud. He forced himself to reconnect with reality, at least long enough to realize who they were, and he gaped at the long, white hair falling over dark eyes as surprised as his own. “Lotor?” He said. Then, realizing what he said, he gaped: “You called him Keith?”

“I suppose I did,” Lotor replied, looking like he wasn’t completely sure about it. He seemed distant too, unfocused.

“Are you okay?”

Lotor pondered the question for what seemed like minutes, then he raised a brow: “No. Are you?”

Lance shook his head and a chuckle escaped his lips. “What do you think?”

The silence fell in the room as the two of them stared at each other. Until Lance hesitantly asked:

“Do you… Maybe... Want to talk about it?”

“I’m not sure,” he was idly twisting his hair around his fingers. “Do you?”

The ‘no, of course no’ was ready on his tongue but, for some reason, he found that he couldn’t say it. There was something in Lotor’s stance that seemed different. He shrugged. “Why not. I have literally just lost the love of my life, probably for good. It can’t get worse.”

“You are right…” Lotor said and he slumped on the floor with his legs crossed, an expectant look and his chin rested on his palm, ready to listen.

“Well, then… Keith and I made a deal, two hundred years ago when we met. He didn’t want to be with me at first, because I am immortal and he isn’t. When he agreed to try, he made me promise that I would let him protect me,” he counted with his fingers, reciting the words that were burned into his mind, “I would never risk my life for him and, when the time would come, I would accept his death and live on.” He paused to take in Lotor’s expression but the other motioned for him to continue. Lance let his hands fall to his sides. “Before, when we were at Adam’s, I wished he would drink my blood so that if he died, he could come back as a hybrid. I was terrified and I didn’t mean to do it but I…  _ commanded _ him to listen.”

“I’m sorry,” Lotor said and it was simple, direct, but Lance could feel the sincerity behind it.

“Thank you,” Lance said, then tentative, he added: “Your turn?”

Lotor sighed, shifting to cover his eyes. “I think I’m in love with Allura.”

Lance’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “I know? You’ve been since you were still human, she is probably the real reason why you wanted to turn!”

“Do you really think that?” The genuine surprise in Lotor’s tone made Lance reconsider.

“Yes, dude,” he said. “And she feels the same. She was disappointed when you chose power over us and all that,” Lance flung his arms open as his cheeks regained some of their color. “You have to admit you’ve been a very huge asshole here in Arus, no matter your reasons, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. She is just hurt and disappointed.”

Lotor opened and closed his mouth, the regret evident in his features. 

“For all this time,” he started, “I thought I just wanted to be better than you.” Lotor raised his eyes, pausing to collect his thoughts. “When Adam came and we discovered that werewolves, unlike witches, could maintain both their natures in the transition, I was so envious. I got obsessed with the Source. Adam was different from you as a vampire, but unlike me, he was equally powerful. I thought the ancestral magic could give me the chance to replicate the curse that was used on you... I did really stupid things.” 

“You did, it’s true,” Lance replied. “But it was not entirely your fault. You know being a vampire does crazy things to your mind. We all made mistakes throughout the centuries. you’ve witnessed some.” He paused. ”But you have time to make things better and redeem yourself. You already began when you decided to step back and let us retake the city, then again when you accepted to help us rebuild it.”

Lotor stared at him, biting the inside of his cheek. “Do you think she could forgive me?”

“She already has,” Lance said. “She is putting up barriers because she is afraid. Go there, Lotor. Your vampires will be able to protect the city, Kuro is mainly after us.”

Lotor moved to a stand and walked towards the door with a new fire in his eyes. When he was almost out of the room, he stopped. “Hey Lance, I was thinking… If your deal is already broken, you don’t have to respect it, anymore.”

“What do you me-” He stopped, understanding lighting up his face. “Since the deal is off, I don’t have to let Keith protect me.”

Lotor nodded, turning to him with a smile that, maybe for the first time, wasn’t calculated, wasn’t part of a scheme or a plot. It was just kind.

\--

  
The potion was awful, bitter and thick. Adam scrunched his nose as he drank it. The disgust, though, was short-lived, because as soon as the magic worked, realization hit him. He jumped up from his chair, knocking it over in his haste, and moved frantically around the room, his thoughts swirling and overlapping: Kuro, the man who appeared from the portal and hurt Lance was his Takashi. But how? Why would he do that?

He could faintly hear the others asking him questions but he couldn’t stop and explain, he had to move, do something.

“Adam!” Hunk yelled, bringing him back to reality. “You remembered something too, didn’t you? What is it?”

“I-” he stuttered, not knowing where to start.

He never had the chance to finish the sentence, because they heard the sound of a door closing and someone yelling Allura and Hunk’s name. They all moved in the direction of the voice and saw a silver-haired vampire, helping Lance support his body.

“What’s happening?” Allura asked, alarmed. “What did you do, Lotor?”

She glared at him but the vampire only looked pained.

“Nothing. We were running to get here, he was in front of me and, suddenly, he tripped. It was like he…” Lotor gulped. “He wasn’t a vampire anymore.”

“What? That’s impossible!” Hunk interjected and went to Lance’s side to look at him.

Coran, who was probably the only person still able to reason at that moment, made a white light appear around Lance, then extended it to Hunk and Allura. “It seems like the assumption is correct.” He said. “The three of you are human.“

A chorus of “What?”, “How?” and “Why?” echoed in the room.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “but there’s only one thing to do. We have to do a locator spell and find Kuro.”

Adam took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “I think I can help with that, I… know Kuro very well. His real name is Takashi, he is my boyfriend and… Their brother.” He pointed to the three siblings and they stared at him with eyes so wide he was afraid they might fall out of their sockets. ”So you should be able to channel them.”

“Our brother? Your famous boyfriend you can see for one year every century… Is Shiro??” Lance shouted, freeing himself from Lotor and Hunk to stand on his own.

“I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you but,” Adam waved his hands defensively, “he made me swear not to. You know how we are with promises,” he saw Lance flinch and Lotor put a hand over his shoulder. “It’s… Complicated. But now there’s no time to explain.”

Allura was burning a hole through Lotor’s hand with her gaze. “What happened with you two?”

Diverting his attention from Adam for a moment, Lance replied: “We had a little chat.” A corner of his mouth twitched upwards against his will. “We are best friends now. But we should add that to the list of things to solve later if we survive this, don’t you think?”

“He is right,” Coran agreed. “As much as we all would like to understand, we’d better hurry, we don’t know what they are planning to do.”

Him, Matt and Pidge began to work on the spell. They formed a circle with their hands connected to one of the siblings each and focused on the link between them to find Takashi.

“They’re in Naxzela!” Pidge shouted. “But they are not alone, there are other witches there.”

After a brief discussion, they all left. Lotor to call his vampires for backup; Matt, Pidge, Lance, Hunk and Allura in Matt’s car and Coran with Adam. He felt powerless, following the wizard out of the house. Something was wrong. Takashi would never go against his siblings on his free will.

*

Naxzela was an area near Arus where people from the city used to go for camping or bonfires. When they arrived, the light they saw was of a completely different kind. The witch, Haggar, stood in the middle of a circle, flashes of light coming from its borders. Kuro was at her side and, behind him, an army of hooded people. Pidge recognized the markings on their cheeks, they were druids. Even from their safe place inside the car, the picture was terrifying.

“Is that Keith?” Matt asked, stopping the car. Lance was outside in less than a second, echoing. “Keith? Where?”

It was then that they saw the all too familiar figure laying in the middle of the circle, surrounded by blood. The way Lance ran, calling his name at the top of his lungs made Pidge’s blood run cold, their own heart broke at the desperation that exuded from his tone.

“Matt, what do we do?” They asked to cover the hammering in their chest.

"Do you see anything?” He replied, coming to their side of the car and looking at them with concern.

“Nothing clear, I think the witch is blocking me again.”

Matt nodded as Hunk exited the car, followed by Allura.

“Let him go!” They heard Lance shout. Lotor and Acxa stood protectively in front of him, trying to prevent him from throwing himself in the circle.

Matt looked between them and he said: 

“We have to go help him!”

As they hurried to his side, Haggar’s hood fell revealing her face. “Hello, Lance. Long time no see,” she hissed. 

Allura gasped. “You are Honerva! How can you be alive?” She tried to take a step forward but Lotor took her hand to stop her.

“Did you really think I accepted to help your parents out of the kindness of my heart? They offered me a perfect opportunity to experiment with quintessence. The curse worked on Shiro, it’s what kept me alive all these years, but when I started draining your energy as well your mother interfered, sabotaging my ritual.”

“My mother…” Allura whispered.

“It was her magic to destroy the village, the only thing I could do was leave and preserve my work while I waited for the right time. You managed to defeat my Hunters but now I will finish what I started at any cost.”

Adam appeared next to the witch, his claws already turned and yelling: “What did you do to Takashi?” 

With a flip of her finger, she sent him flying back.

“Oh, you can have him,” she said. “He won’t recognize you, anyway. You should have seen how devastated he was when he came to your place and you didn’t even let him talk to you one last time.”

Adam clenched his fists. “It was really you…” He mumbled. “Takashi, please come back. You can fight her, you are stronger than this!”

Haggar laughed. “No, he is not.” She opened her arms and a wind began to flow, it was so strong the treetops surrounding the area bent under its strength. Adam continued talking to Kuro, not caring about anything else while the druids attacked them. Pidge and Matt exchanged a glance and cast a barrier spell to protect their friends, letting Lotor and the vampires to hold them back. Even if there were only four of them, they fought like they were one hundred. Biting, ripping flesh, striking back blow for blow.

A red aura colored the whirlwind originating from the circle at Haggar’s feet. Taking advantage of how everyone else seemed to be differently occupied, Lance managed to reach its center and was now kneeling beside the unconscious werewolf. He was about to carry him away when Coran shouted:

“Don’t move him! She is using him to bind the spell, he will die if you do!”

Like he had been burned, Lance jumped back, glaring at the witch and trying to bare his fangs that didn’t turn. Frustration radiated from his body. He scratched his arms and pulled at his hair. In the end, he threw himself at Haggar, not caring about his condition. Everyone yelled, Allura and Hunk exited the barrier to join him and the evil grin that opened on Haggar’s face, told them it was exactly what she was hoping will happen.

“Stop! You are falling right into her trap!” Pidge yelled but they couldn’t hear it. They felt the magic coming from Haggar before they heard the words. It was an ancient kind, older than the Olkari stone, older than any book they had ever had the opportunity to study. And it was more powerful than anything they had ever experienced.

“Take my hands,” Coran said, coming between them and Matt. They did without questioning and Matt replied in kind. His spell flowed through their system, mixing with their own magic and increasing its power as he did. A wave of white covered the red, pushing it farther from Keith and the others. They barely had a couple of seconds to cheer that their enchantment was working, before Kuro was on them. Pidge shrieked, a burn appearing on their arm forced them to let go of Coran’s hand. The magic faltered but Matt began to echo Coran’s words to maintain its strength even without them.

As Pidge defended themselves against Kuro, distracting him from their brother, a brown wolf appeared behind them and begged with Adam’s voice:

“Please, don’t kill him!”

He jumped, attacking Kuro in their place and all the while he continued to whisper at him. The commanding tone in his voice was strong, they could feel it even if it wasn’t directed at them but Kuro seemed unaffected.

Being there with them both, their vision came back in full force, clearer, sharper. They knew what they had to do. Taking the Olkari pendant from their pocket, they broke the crystal. A green light beaconed from the fragments and they directed it in Kuro’s direction. Branches grew from the soil to envelop him. When he was trapped, Pidge touched the side of his and Adam’s head, connecting their minds. Their voices were muffled, so they couldn’t grasp their words but they could feel the intensity of the emotions they were experiencing. When Adam came back, returning to his human form, his eyes were watery but he smiled at Kuro. He hugged him, tight, when he saw his eyes were grey instead of yellow, and Kuro kissed his head. Pidge could only faintly hear the words “It’s good to have you back, Takashi,” before the two separated again and focused on the fight.

“Thank you Pidge,” Adam said to them and they nodded, leaving to go hold Coran’s arm and mirror their brother in repeating the words of the spell.

Adam and Kuro fought back to back, moving in unison like they were reading each other’s minds. With their help, Lotor and the vampires managed to fight off the druids and close in on Haggar. She was trapped but the wind still prevented them from reaching her. With a yell, she gathered more of Keith’s life force to enhance her power and they saw the red aura cover the three siblings entirely.

“We have to do something!” Pidge yelled. “We aren’t strong enough!” 

From the other side of the circle, Shiro opened his hands and spoke in the same ancient language Haggar was using. A wave of purple entwined with the white aura to help countering the spell. Taking advantage of it, Coran interrupted his muttering to call: 

“Allura! You are not a vampire, use your magic to free Keith!”

Lance looked at her, on the verge of crying, extending his hands in front of him: “Use my energy, or quintessence, or whatever.” Her eyes danced between Coran, Haggar and Keith before settling on his and nodding. They all knew how critical the situation was. Before she could take Lance’s hands, though, Hunk stopped her with one of his own.

“We are in this together, brother,” he said, soft but firm. “If she channels you, I can double the power. No matter the consequences, we remain together and fight as one, remember?”

“I am so sick of deals, oaths and promises,” Lance said, shaking his head.

“When you unbind them,” Coran continued, “Haggar will be powerless for a moment but the three of you will be vampires again, so be careful.”

Haggar was still fighting with all her strength but now she was alone against the ten of them. The weaker the binding between her and Keith grew, the more she was drained of her power, until she couldn’t keep her spell anymore. 

Adam was in front of her in a second. “Now. Free him,” he shouted. If Pidge thought the power of persuasion he had used on Kuro before was strong, it was nothing compared to what they felt now. The ground shook and a shiver ran down their spine. The need to break Kuro’s curse wove deeply into their own soul and they were sure everyone present was feeling the same way.

Weakened as she was, Haggar could do nothing but obey. The effort to break a two thousand years curse was more than she could take in her state, but no one would have been strong enough to go against Adam’s compulsion. 

“How can we be sure it worked?” Kuro asked, staring at his hands like they could give him an answer.

Adam put his arms around his waist, leaning his head on his shoulder. “We will see what happens at the end of the year, I guess.”

“Wait, maybe I can help with that.” Pidge said, moving between them and touching them like they did before.

Kuro put his hand on their hair with a smile.” I owe you everything, thank you.”

Focusing on the tie between them, Pidge grinned. “It’s okay. You were pretty cool before you freaked out and tried to kill me. Besides, it will be nice to have another human companion to our breakfasts.”

“Does this ean it worked?” Asked Adam. 

They nodded. “It did. Welcome to the family.”

\--

  
Lance blinked, slowly opening his eyes as he moved to sit, taking in his surroundings. He was in his bed. The sheets smelled wrong but he recognized the place. Putting the covers aside, he noticed they had changed his clothes. He walked down towards the kitchen, hoping to find Hunk or someone who could explain what happened. Even from the stairs, he heard the sounds of chatting, chuckles, the clinking of plates and cutlery. It was unnaturally loud, meaning he was a vampire again. 

He picked up the pace, curiosity and worry eating at him. When he opened the door, everyone was there. Ezor, Zethrid and Acxa in the corner, not daring to sit at their table but drinking one of their blood bags, looking at Lotor as if asking for permission. Lotor was on the couch, Allura curled up to his side and playing with his fingers. Her head buried in his neck. At the table, Hunk was trying to contain Matt, Pidge, Coran and Shiro as they stuffed their mouths with food he had probably prepared, begging Adam to help him. Finally, on the other side of the room, was Keith, fiddling with the longer hair at his nape and looking everywhere but at him.

They all stopped when they noticed him standing there.

“Lance! You are okay!” Hunk cried. He kissed him and touched him as if to make sure he was real. The others followed suit, taking turns in hugging him and saying how happy they were that he was back.

“I’m sorry, Lance. I used too much of your energy,” explained Allura. “You have been sleeping for two days.”

He met the eyes of everyone present before returning to hers with a smile. “Keith is alive and we are all here, so it was worth it.”

Adam patted him on the back, saying: 

“We agreed to stay until you awoke, I’m glad you are better. Let me formally introduce you to my boyfriend Takashi.” He winked. “You may already know him.”

Lance laughed, only then letting relief and happiness flood through his veins and jumping to hug him, motioning for Allura and Hunk to pile up as well. He couldn’t wait to reconnect with Shiro but, for now, he was content to melt into the embrace of his family, finally reunited.

The sound of someone walking away made him stop. He didn’t need to look up to know who those steps belonged to.

“Are you going to leave like this?” He asked, excusing himself from his siblings to catch up to him.

Keith stopped, his shoulders slumped and his arms crossed tightly over his belly. “I have to, Lance. They told me what happened. You almost died because you didn’t want to move my body out of the circle to break the spell.”

“Our deal was already off when I did that,” he replied, his stomach churning. “I love you, Keith, I always will. I couldn’t let you die.”

“But I will, one day! I’m not going to become a hybrid. I-” He bit his lip, interrupting his sentence.

“That’s your decision to make, not mine. I will accept it either way, what happened at Adam’s…”

“It’s not about that,” he interrupted. “I know you didn’t mean to do it.”

Lance nodded, grateful, and took another step closer. “I couldn’t let you die because of me or my family. Is it so difficult to understand?” His hands itched to touch him, uncross his arms, or distend the frown on his face with a caress, but he didn’t.

“I do understand,” Keith replied. “But I can’t do this anymore. I… Thank you, for everything, these years with you had been the happiest I could hope to live. But now I have to let you go.” He turned, resuming his walk out of the house but Lance ran in front of him again and said:

“Is really a deal we made two hundred years ago stronger than everything we shared? We both almost died a couple of days ago, can’t we agree that something like that is enough to wipe the slate clean?”

“Please, Lance let me go,” Keith repeated, but his voice was breaking.

“No. If this was really what you want you wouldn’t be crying,” Lance said. His arms were abandoned on his sides as he stood, waiting.

“I love you too,” Keith whispered, so faint Lance wouldn’t have heard if it wasn’t for his heightened senses.

“Then what is the problem? Tell me.”

Keith pushed his forehead against Lance’s chest. “I don’t know what to do. I hate being a werewolf and these stupid compulsions.”

Lance pressed a kiss to his forehead, his hands sliding carefully to his back. “I don’t know, either, but we can figure it out together, okay? No deals, just you and me against the World, what do you say?”

Keith wiped his nose with his sleeve, looking up at him with his intense, beautiful eyes, who always had the power to make Lance feel weak. 

“Yes,” he said, attempting a smirk that looked more like the enamored smile Lance was so fond of. “Just, please, never let me talk about promises again.”

Lance chuckled, cupping his head with both of his palms. “Are you sure? Not even a tiny little promise?”

Keith pretended to ponder it. “Hm… Maybe if it’s very tiny?”

“Well, then,” Lance started solemnly. “I promise, I am yours.  _ Unconditionally _ . Until the end of time.”

He closed the distance between them, brushing Keith’s nose and mouth with his lips before kissing him. Keith encircled his waist with his arms as he responded. Laughs and tears and half-formed words blending and losing their meaning between them. When they parted, Keith pressed one last kiss to his lips. Brief, chaste, as he said: “And I am yours. Until the end of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> With all my love,  
> Nigg

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think, if you want, or come find me on Tumblr [here](https://onpointedfeetandbrokendreams.tumblr.com/) !


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